Despite its lack of youthful anarchy, The Hawk Is Howling is an impressive record. Mogwai are among the world's most gifted musical collectives; perhaps they have just been making music too long to want or need to reinvent the game again.

Acid Tongue has more hits than misses. However, Lewis doesn't realize her full potential on this LP.

With hooked beaks and mighty talons, Brightblack Morning Light rip and gut the carcass of psychedelic rock, leaving it exposed and decomposing on the side of the road.

The music is jovial and upbeat, yet utterly simplistic.

Packed with emotion and feeling, in Eyes At Half Mast Talkdemonic have issued a powerful statement of beauty.

Just shy of a dozen songs, the ensemble of tracks on The Stand Ins is as rich and musically textured as any previous Okkervil River album

It goes without saying that The New Year is an album that will draw comparisons to the Kidane brothers' previous group. The good news is that in the face of such unavoidable observations, the album easily stands up on its own.

Whereas the last album came across like the more muddled and aimless moments of Fiery Furnaces or Frog Eyes/Wolf Parade songs (all bluster, arrangement - nothing memorable even if expertly played), this record comes across like the more finely tuned pop songs from any of the aforementioned groups.

The only thing the tracks have in common is the uncommon musicianship on display and the high-flying atmospherics that keep most of the album's mood adrift in the stratosphere.

The '59 Sound delivers just about everything you could hope for in a well-written rock album.

This haunting collection of songs is yet another gem in Jagjaguwar's growing canon.

Consciousness is fleeting and I fall asleep knowing that tomorrow will be tough, but that the dreams to follow will be as soothing as the music that preceded them.

As presented on LP3, it appears Ratatat's music works best as a fleeting burst rather than a long player.

The album is a classic from start to finish, and only adds to the already monumentally impressive discography the band has produced in the past decade.

Viva La Vida does find Martin and his bandmates willing to extend their musical boundaries, making for an occasionally brilliant album that's exponentially more vibrant and engaging than 2005's generally stale "X&Y."

At Mount Zoomer is interesting and focused, but safe.

On their third album O, the day-glo Omaha quintet Tilly and the Wall spoons some peanut butter into my mouth. After an initial scare with the typically saccharine, non-album single 'Beat Control,' they diversify after all, which doesn't mean more overdubs.

Regardless of lyrical legitimacy, the sentiment is captivating, but across the album as a whole this substance is fleeting, and is what fans will be missing the most.

There are pleasant moments, but by any measure Seeing Things as a whole is rather bland and featureless.

For however much this album is worth berating, there's no denying that Subtle are an extremely talented group of musicians, and ExitingARM is not so much a fuck-up as it is a trial in exploring limitations.

The album embodies the highlights of the band's past work, and is imbued with the progressiveness that has made each successive Ladytron release a step above its predecessor.

Real Close Ones will likely leave listeners dumbfounded, but the album should nonetheless be lauded for its break from convention.

Spiritualized have always possessed an impressive grandeur, but on this album it is grandeur with a purpose--Songs in A&E is the sound of healing.

The prospect of Midnight Juggernauts completely reviving the new wave scene is a long shot (perhaps thankfully so), but the trio has gone a long way toward proving that, when only the best parts are culled, the fairly dead genres of yore can, when bolstered by modern sounds, result in something beautiful and memorable.

While Johansson's debut is not as pleasant as Zooey Deschanel's work with M.Ward, Anywhere I Lay My Head will surely surprise Johansson's doubters; having grown to appreciate Scarlett Johansson for being more than a pretty face and mediocre actor, I can speak from experience.

This maturation of lyrical character is the Bonnie "Prince" Billy we would hope for and expect at this juncture in his career. While there may always be a darkness, it's refreshing to bask in his newfound light.

Things get really sketchy, in the sense that most of the tunes are just that, sketches, with an arrangement or melodic idea worth pursuing that doesn't reach high enough.

Ben Gibbard has shown growth which each successive release, and made the jump to hooky pop-songsmith with the Postal Service's (apparently) one-off collaboration, but Narrow Stairs feels stagnant, devoid of even the superficial pleasures present on Plans.